Unexpected Prevalence of eae -Positive Escherichia coli in the Animas River, Durango, Colorado

Steve Hamner, Steven D. Fenster, Benjamin T. Nance, Katherine A. McLain, Kami S. Parrish-Larson, Michael W. Morrow and Timothy E. Ford
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Steve Hamner: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Steven D. Fenster: Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO 81301, USA
Benjamin T. Nance: Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO 81301, USA
Katherine A. McLain: Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO 81301, USA
Kami S. Parrish-Larson: Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO 81301, USA
Michael W. Morrow: Department of Biology, University of Montana Western, Dillon, MT 59725, USA
Timothy E. Ford: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Since 2014, biology students at Fort Lewis College have studied the water quality of the Animas River in Durango, Colorado. Environmental microbiology and molecular biology techniques have been employed to study Escherichia coli isolates from the river and to define characteristics of the bacteria related to public health. E. coli was found in the river, as well as in culverts and tributary creeks that drain into the river within the Durango city limits. Concentrations of E. coli in the river occasionally exceeded the US EPA guideline of 126 CFU per 100 mL for recreational water use. Many of the E. coli isolates were able to be grown at 45 °C, an indication of mammalian origin. Unexpectedly, 8% of the isolates contained the intimin ( eae ) gene, a virulence gene characteristic of two pathotypes of E. coli , the enterohemorrhagic and enteropathogenic E. coli. Several isolates tested were resistant to multiple antibiotics commonly used in animal and human medicine. Further study is warranted to determine the source of these bacteria entering the Animas River, and to further characterize the possible disease potential of multi-antibiotic resistant and virulence gene-containing isolates found in a semi-rural/urban setting.

Keywords: enterohemorrhagic E. coli; enteropathogenic E. coli; pathogen detection; waterborne disease (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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